Towel feeding and cutting machine



Sept. 30, 1952 c. JACOBSON 2,512,425

TOWEL FEEDING AND CUTTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 25. 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. I

Sept. 30, 1952 c. JACOBSON 2,612,425

TOWEL FEEDING AND CUTTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 25, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

CHARLES dAcoBsqN BY Sept. 30, 1952 -c. JACOBSON 7 2,612,425

TOWEL FEEDING AND CUTTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 23. 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 6H: V -I g,

{I 1 7 f2" U2 INVENTORF \A CHARLES dAcoBsoN 9.5.

ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 30, 1952 UNITED STATE s. PATENT- OFF! TQWEL lFEEnlNGl AND CUTTING MACHINE. l

Charles Jacobson, Brooklyn, N."Y..; I Application December 23, 1949, Serial N o.'"-134;68l"* 6 Claims. (Cl. 312-39)' towels: or .thez'likee a.

More particularly','- ;the presehtinvention pro-.v g

posesvaniimprovedi machine .for vending towels characterized-by a pair. of -,feed: rolls arranged to be..ma-nually;pperatediior .drawing the toweling material z from'ra continuous supply .in. a manner 2 T For furtheracomprehension 10f the :invention, L and of a the objects and-advantages e.,therecf-;.ref+;i'

e'rence will be :had to the followingrdescriptiozr";

and accompanying drawings; 'and;. .to.::theeape:- pended claimsinwhichatthe various novel ea+ tures of. the invention are :more particularlylset-w i.

forth:

In-the accompanying:rdrawingsi'forming a: Ina-s I teri-al part of thepresent disclosure Fig..;,1 is a perspective'sof' ther'towel' vendi-ngt machine, constructed-2 inf accordancew-withi; thew: presents'invention.

Fig; 2 is an enlarged::verticaLsectionaL view:-

to project-it throug-h a; discharge slot formed in a casing which: encloses .the ,operating mechanism of the lpresentirinventionm.

Still .-further; :the. present; invention. proposes the provision.- of a manually novable'handlefor operatingithe feed rolls and arranged. in..a connection witha lock means whichrreleasablviholds.

theamovablefhandle iin.v its normal starting posi tioni; v duced :scale, taken;-substantially-. on;thewlineu.4- .4 Anotherrobjectsofethe presentinvention.v proof:Fig.-3. l poses .theprovisionofwcoin controlled mechanism Fig-5 is 'antenlargedecentral ion-g-itudinal'rsecfor releasing...the movable handle .uponv inser-g 1 tion. of a coin .ofitheLpropert-valuein a. manner to bemanually, pivotedatdproject the toweling materials .T

A still further object .Of ,the. present invention proposes thellprovision of cuttihgblades just. be

hind .thddischarga'sloi' ofthel casing in a man ner to sever the towellng materiallwhe'n a piece.

of .proper length .has.been extended through the disc'halrgeslot.

Sti1lijanother..object ofthei present invention,

proposesthelarrangement. of a novel driver gear arranged. to be .rotated by .the movable handle,

when. pivoted for turnin'gl the vfeed. rolls during the'first part of the'movement 'o'fthe handle after theitowelingmateriat;

It is another object or "theipresent' invention to provide thedoottom'of 'the"enclo'sing" casing iwith' a Waste .container-with'a waste'opening below" the discharge slot communication with the waste container-in a manner *sothat the towels maybe placed therein after having beenused:

Th'e presenwin'vention further proposes that the vendingmachine'be"constructed to 1 draw the towelirig;- material "from 'a continuous roll 'thereofforyinaccordance-with a modificationofthe taken substantially on the line 2-.-2 of :Eigicl.

Fig. 3 is a partial vertical sectional viewrtakenv: substantially 'on' the1.line,-.3,--3 ofrFigi 12. Fig-4 is a horizontal;sectionalsviewwon:a reentional view. of the coin controlled mechanism .of z the-present:invention-y1. V

Fig. 6 is .a vertical {sectional view, on" an. en.-,-, larged. scale, :of .the locking memberxcarried-sbyc; the operating harm .and :which'. engagesthe: coin= controlled mechanism. i

Fig. !I is a-perspective viewoifiths.braketmechae nisi ngrper sec Fig. 8' is a front'elevatio-nal :view .ofthe. top..por.-. tion of the towel dispensing mechanismsconstructed in accordancenwith a modification oftthe presentinvention, and havingia portion thereofbroken awayto reveal :interior 1constructions- Fig. 9 is a perspective..view.=of the "towelinsw. material .used. .in .thelform ,ofthe. invention shown r in.Fig;,8 together...with its suPportingshelf. and=.;

related-mechanisms The vending machineifor .towelauaccording .to

the first ..form of they present invention. dlhistrated in Figsfl. toil, includes .a casingezfllhaving. a top wall 121', a frdntwalML-L a back wall zsand side Ttvallsv 24 The casing 2041s formedof arelae. 1

tively .Stifi sheet me.ta1 .WithLthetop Wall 2 I the.

front wall 22 and theibacki-wall.23.lbent ,from'a single. "sheet of the, metal: 1 Th'esidelwallsl24 Lare properly shaped and have. their. ltop, Qircintland back edges welded .or ,securedii'nlany' otherrsimi-i.

lar manner to the adjacent edges of the ,top wall 2|, the front wall .22. andthe' .back,-wall.,23i' The...

presentinvention; "to draw the-toweling material from-"a stacked-folded-length thereof.

It is 'a further-objectofthe'presentiinvention to construct a machinefor'vendingtowels'which: is simple -and'dur'able, whiiclrcan be manufao tured atndsold at'a reasonable "cost'-'and' which-is fool proof in its operation:

rapidly unwound. from the roll.

with reduced trunnions 28 rotatively engaged in U-shaped brackets 29 mounted on the inside faces of the side walls 24. Thus, the supply roller 26 can be lifted out of the brackets 29 when it is necessary to replace the roll of towel material.

Brake mechanism is arranged in connection with the continuous roll of toweling material 2'! to retain the toweling material from being too The brake mechanism is comprised of an arcuate plate 39 which bears against the top of the roll of toweling material 2'1, see Figs. 2, 3 and 7. The plate 32 is pivotally supported at its rear edge by means of studs 3| which laterally extend-from the sides of the plate 38 and which are turnably engaged in brackets 32 fixedly mounted on the back wall 23. Leaf springs 33 each have one of their ends secured to the back wall 23 above the rear edge of the arcuate plate 30 by means of rivets 34. The free ends of the leaf springs 33 bear against the top face of the plate 38 pressing it against the top of the roll of toweling material 21 to frictionally retain the roll against free movement on the'supply roller 26.

The ends of the plate 30 are formed with flanges 35 which depend along the ends of the roll of toweling material 21 and retain the roll against longitudinal movement on the supply roller 26. As illustrated in Figs. 2 and '7, the flanges 35 are formed with arcuate cutouts 36, arranged concentric with the studs 3| to accommodate the projecting ends of the supply roller 26 as the roll of toweling material 21 becomes less and the plate 39 more closely approaches the-supply roller 26.

The front wall 22 of the casing 20 in fore and aft alignment with the roll of toweling material 21 is formed with an enlarged opening 31. The expanse of the opening 31 is indicated by the dot and dash lines 31 on Fig. 3. The opening 37 is closed by a plate 38 provided at itsbottom edge with a hook portion 39, see Fig. 2, Which-is engaged over the material of the front wall 22 at the bottom of the opening 31. The hook portion 39 is as wide as the bottom'portion of the opening 31 so as to retain the cover plate 38 against lateral shifting.

4 ber 44. The bottom of the keeper member 42 is formed with a cam surface 46, see Fig. 2, so that when the plate is raised off the roll of toweling material 21, the front edge of the plate will snap past the keeper member 42 to be engaged thereby and retained in the inoperative raised position. To release the plate 30 to again drop onto the top of the roll of toweling material 21, the keeper member 42 must be manually pivoted against the action of the coil spring 45 to disengage the front edge of the plate 39 from the keeper member 42.

The front face of the cover plate 38 below the lock 48, has mounted thereon a mirror 41 which is supported in a suitable frame 48 of metal attached to the cover plate 38.

The'toweling material 21 passes from the supply roller 26 downward and beneath an idler roller 49 which has its ends rotatively supported in brackets 59 fixed to the side walls 24 of the easing 20. From the idler roller 49, the toweling material 21 passes between feed rollers 5| made of cork, rubber or other similar friction material. The feed rollers 5| are fixedly mounted on shafts 52 rotatively supported on brackets 53 mounted on the inside faces of the side Walls 24. It is appreciated, of course, that,-if desired, the idler roller 49 could be omitted entirely and the toweling material 2! could pass directly from the supply roller 25 to the feed rollers 5| without departing from the intent of the present invention.

After passing between the feed rollers 5|, the end of the toweling material-21 passes across the top face of a guide plate 54 for guiding the end of the toweling material 21 through the discharge slot 55 formed in the front wall 22 of the casing 20, see particularly Figs. 1 and 2. The guide plate 54 is pivotally supported upon the side walls 24 of The top of the cover plate 38 is provided with the usual key operated lock 49 for releasably retaining the cover plate 38 in its position closing the front opening 31.

From Figs. 1 and 2 and the dot and dash lines 31 in Fig. 3 designating the expanse of the opening 31, it will be noted that the top portion of the opening 31 and likewise the top portion of .the plate 38 are enlarged laterally to theright to provide a clearance permitting removal of the supply roller 26 when a fresh roll of toweling material 21 is to be mounted on that roller.

The top wall 2| of the casing29is provided with a latch for retaining the brake plate 39 in an inoperative raised position during. the time that the supply of toweling material 2'! is being replenished on the supply roller 26. That latch is characterized by a lug 4|, see Figs. 2 and 3, which depends from the top wall 2|. A keeper member 42 is pivotally mounted upon the bottom of the lug 4| by means of a pivot pin 43. The lug 4| is formed with ;a stop member 44 which extends along the rear edge of the keeper member 42. A coil spring 45 is concentrically wound upon the pivot pin 43 and has one bearing against the front edge of the lug 4| and its other end bearing against the front edge of the keeper member 42 retaining the keeper member in an operative position abutted against the stop memthe casing 29 by means of depending lugs 56 pivotally supported by Pivot pins 51. Each of the lugs 56 is formed with a downward extension 53 urged against a stop member 59, projecting from the respective side, wall 24 by means of a leaf spring 69 secured to the respective side wall 24 by means of rivets 5|. When the downward extensions 58 are engaged against the stop members 59, the guide plate 54 will be disposed with its top face flush with the'bottom of the discharge slot 55, as shown in Fig. 2. i

Interposed between the front end of the guide plate 54 and the front wall 22 of the casing 29, there is means for cutting of a predetermined length of the toweling material 21 after having been extended through the discharge slot 55. That cutting means is characterized by a fixedly mounted blade 62 on the inside face of the front wall 22 with its top edge flush with the top face of the guide plate 54 when the guide plate is in the normal position shown in Fig. 2. At one end,

the fixed blade 62 is formed with an upwardly extended lug 63, see Figs. 2 and 4. A movable blade 64 is pivotally attached at one end to the lug 63 by means of a pivot pin 65. Attached to the other end of the movable blade 64 there is a contraction spring 66 for holding the movable blade 64 in the raised inoperative position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The bottom end of the spring 66 is looped through a lug 61 extended upward from the said other end of the movable blade 54 and has its upper end engaged over a pin 68 extended inward from the inner face of the front wall 22. The spring 56 in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, is under no tension.

When the movable blade 64 is pivoted downward by a means to be hereinafter described, it

will cut olf the end of thetoweling material 21 I which "has beenrextended through the discharge slot .55.; For1that,-purpose,s.the guidezplate 54 has: beenpivotally; mounted so that its frontedge will.v move downward beneath the advancing beveled.

cutting -;edge -ofthe movable blade: 64: Such movement of the guide plate 5 llwillloadthe(leaf;

springs fimzthe extensions 58 movingaway; from the stop: member 59; to return the guide-plate to- I theqnormal position shown in Fig. 2 when the.

movable blade '64- is returned to its raised position. From-{Fig.2 it will be' noted that therear edge of the. guide plate54is positioneddirectlyover-the. center-of the pivot: pins 51 so that whentheiguide..-plate 54 ispivoted-downwardit will.

have no lifting effect on the toweling material 21.;

Thus, there will be .no I lengthening ,of the stretch of toweling material 2'llocated between'the feed 2: rollers 5l". which will be idleduringthe. cutting. of .the toweling material .21; and the cutting;

blades Gland;

Manually operable means is provided forturn-H ing the feed rollers Bland forpivoting the movablejflblade 64 toward the fixed blade :62 in timed f synchronism to first extend a length of thetoweling material ZIIthroughthe discharge slot ESE-and to-.-then cutLt-hat length off. I The manually :operable means comprises a short shaft 65 mounted II betweena bearing mounted on the inside face: of oneof the side walls 24and a second bearing; H Emounted on a bracket12 extended inward fromrthe inside face; of the front wall 22; I Rotativelypositionedon the shaft 658: between the bearing H 'anda fixedly mounted collar 13 on the shaft, therezis a driver-gear l4 and a radially ex-v tended handle 15. -On, its side adjacent the han-.

vdle '15, thedrivergear-H is formed with an in-. tegralratchetwheel '16." The handle 'lfi'carriesa v pivotally mounted pawl 11, 'see particularly Fig. 2, which is urged toward'the. ratchet wheel 16 by a spring 18 also mounted on the handle sothat.

when the handle 15 is pulled forward the. driver againstclockwise rotation :on the return'movementof the handle'iB;.the'bracket, .12 is -formed witha downward: extension'lfi Iupon whi'cha'sec- 0nd. pawl 80 is pivotally mounted. That second. pawl 80 is urged'into engagement with the teeth: 2 of therratchetwheellfi by a leaf spring 8|; see

Figi2.

Thefrontwall 221' of the casing 20 is formed,

withpa recessedportion 8i. (indicated by dot and dash lines .82...in Fig. ,2) with the innermost wall, thereof. formed with an arcuate'slot 83 :(indicated by dot and dash lines 83 in Fig. 2) arranged concentric with the. pivot of the. handle15.

Intermediate :of .its. ends, theihandle' l5 is angled. see Fig. 3, tov extend through the arcuate slot 83:: so that the top portion of the "handle'fl will'be ex uposed within the recessed portion.82..to'be. manu-., T allygrasped and pulledforward." The. arcuatei ;witha downwardlywextended. keeperlip: 91;" Mountedon the side ofwthehandle 75, within the casingzkffi, there-is a latch meansrarranged.

to engage the'keeper lip 93' and retain the handle II The latch means is comprised. of 'a tubular casing -S8-fixed-- ly mountedv on the outer-end of. a laterally eX.

tending projection Beef the handle (55.-

Specific;

slot 83 is of a length to limit movement-ofthe top portion. of the handlel5 through an. arcsufficient'. to turn the driver-gear M 'through'oneequarter of: i

a turn for each forward movementgof therhandle 15. The handle 15 is retained in its. normal :posi.

tion, against the backend of the arcuate iS1Ot 83', by, a contraction spring .8 3. which operates .-be,-.- tween a lug 85textendedrearward from thehamx... dle-y'l5 and a lugc86 extended forwardzfromrithez back wall;23.

From.Fig. 2 it will be noted that the periphery of thedriver gearfl lis .dividedinto. four rsections..-; of equal length each comprised of .a toothed sec-1. tion 81 .andian untoothed:section.8B+the:toothed.-. sections-.81 being. somewhatlonger than the run-.- 5 toothed: sections. .88.. The driver-gear .14 turn: meshes-with: the upperroneof ;-a pairof superim;

posed? intcrmeshedpinions 89 carried I by the 10 driver gear-.14,- by forward movement of thehane. dle. 15, the, toothportions. 8.1 of the driver gear I4 gearandthe pinions 89 :Will not be rotated.

has. been extended through. the discharge slot 15 5.

Movement of ;..the movable v.blade 64: is Iaccom 5 plishedzby. an; arm 90 1which extendsradially from 1 thepivoted end of the handle 75. The-arm is 1 of a length and located to engage the top of the: movable .bladerfifl just asthe topmostIpiniQn 89:1. entersone ofrthe untoothed sections fiflzandup'ivot so that ,blade; 54 56011113161781)! downward against the I actionof the: springv 66-.to1cut;off: thecextended toweling: material. 21: during the latterpart of eachsquarternturnof thei'driver'gear. .14;

Coin operated. means. is provided. for ;retaining .1.

2:; the :handle 15 againstbeing-pulled forward. until e such: time: as. thecoinofzproper .value has been I inserted into themachiner. The coin; operated means. is characterizedpby. a tubular member ,9I of flattened rectangular. shape -mounted through 40 the front wall 22. of the casing 2.0. 'Ihemounting of the tubulanmember Slis reinforced-by a tri-- sideface-of the frontz'Wall 22. .A slide member 9-3. 45 ;is slidably,positionedwintheitubular memberfil with' its. front endnormally extended from the front endof the tubular:member 91,: as shown in ment of the slide member 93 by striking the front endof the tubular member 9|: Forwardmoveextended. peg- 95: on. the slide member- 93' which ber 9 I. 1

of the .toprwall of the tubular member 95 is exend of the bottomiwallofzthe tubular-member and tha-t -bottom Wall-is formed ataits rear end l'fi against being, pulled forward;-

details-of the-latch means. are clearly shown in Fig; 6, from which it will be noted that :a piston 5 we :is slidablyv disposed within the tubular case; I

shafts 52uponwhichthe feed rollers 5| -are mounted. .1v Thus;;-on each quarter turnof they I willcause .the pinions. .89 to be-turned to turn the; feed. rollers 551 and. advancetoweling material 21.. through} the ,discharge.slot..55. During the latter 1 :15 part-of .eachrquarterturmthei topmostpinion89= will -besinan untoothedsection 88 of the driven:

It is duringthe time that-the. pinions BB are. idle---,-during the :latter part of each quarter .turn: 9 of the .drlvergear 'M.that: the movable blade:.64 is pivotedvtoward. thefixed blade 62 ,forcutting: II off that portionjof :the .toweling material 2] which angularly shaped blockwfiz'mounted betweenthe bottom face of the tubular member .and theiin- Figsgz and5. The. front. end of the slide member. 93 -ha's-..an upturned portion B t-providing a grip. I 50 forsliding the slidamembert? relative to the tubular-member 91 and for limiting inward movementxof theslidemember 93 with relation to the. 55 ,tubular;-.member.;9l is arrested by anupwarclly.

engages' a complementary elongated: slot: 96," see Fig. 5, formediinthe top wall of the tubular mem- I As clearly showninFligs. 2 and 5, the: rear end.

tended: a considerable. distance'beyond the .rearing 98 and urged upward bya coiled expansion spring IGI. 'The top wall of the casing 88 is formed with anaperture and a stem H12 integral with the piston II!!! has its free end slidably e" tended through the aperture and has anenlarged head I03 formed on its upper end. The front of I the head I03 is characterized by a vertical'wall portion I04 and an inclined cam surface 35 at the top end of the vertical wall portion I04. Normally, the top of the head )3 bears against that portion of the top wall of the tubular memher BI which extends rearward beyond the bot- .tom Wall thereof so'that if an'attemptis made to pivot the handle I5 forward without'inserting a coin of the proper value, the vertical'wall portion I05 of the head I03 will strike the keeper lip 9'! and hold the handle I5 against forward movement, see particularly Figs. 2 and 5 in that respect. The back edge of the head M3 is formed at the top thereof with a cam surface I86 for guiding the head beneath the keeper lip 97 011 the return or back movement of the handle 75.

With the slide member 93 in its full forward position, the slide member 93 and the top wall of the tubular member 9|, forward of the front well 22, have aligned coin holes Ill! and I03 respectively, into which a coin of the proper denomination can be placed. The bottom wall of the tubular member BI is formed with a smaller .hole I09 into which a pin or the like can be engaged to lift an inserted coin out of the aligned In constructing the coin operated means, it is essential that the holes Ill! and I68, if desired.

slide member 93 be formed of a piece of metal having a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the coin which is tobe usedfor operating the device, so that the top face'ofthe coin will be flush with the top face of the slide member 33 p aligned apertures formed in the lugs I I and the plunger II I and the apertures of corresponding irregular shape to retain the plunger III against rotation while at the same time permitting free vertical sliding movements of the plunger III. The bottom of the plunger III is extended into an aperture II2 formed in the top wall of'the tubular member 9| to rest on the top face of the slide member 93. A collar I I3 is fixedly mounted on the plunger III between the lugs -I Ifiand a spring I I4 coaxially Wound on the plunger III operates between the top face of the collar H3 and the bottom face of the topmost lug IIfl resiliently forcing the plunger III downward.

Should an attempt be made to push the slide member 83 inward without a coin in the hole I IN, the spring II will function to snap the bottom of the plunger II I into the hole I I31 as it passes beneath the plunger. In the lowered position of the plunger I i I, the front edge thereof will be engaged by the material of the slide member 93 defining the front of the hole II}? I63 of the handle latch means. The rear edge of the bottom of the plunger III is formed with a a cam surface II5 to beengaged by the material of the slide member 93 defining the back of the hole I01 to lift theplunger III out of that hole against the action of the spring IHI upon outward movement of the slide member 93 so that the" plunger III will'be ineffective to stop such outward movement.

However, when a coin of the proper denomination is in position in the hole I07, that coin Will retain the plunger III in its raised position as the coin passes beneath the plunger permitting theslide member 93 to be pushed fully inward as indicated by the dot and dash lines 93' in Fig. 5. As the slide member 93 approached its fully inposition, the rear end of the same will have engaged the cam surface I05 of the head I03 and push the head downward and retain it in its downward position by reason of the fact that the rear end of the slide member becomes disposed between the head and the bottom face of the top wall of the tubular member QI. The new position of the head I cs is indicated by the dot and dash lineslfiii in Fig. 5. In the downward position of the head I83, the top end of the vertical wall portion its becomes disposed below the bottom'edge of the keeper lip 9'! bringing the cam surface I05 into position to engage the keeper lip 97 as the handle I5 is pivoted forward. As that cam surface engages the keeper lip 97, on forward pivoting of.

the handle under impetus of the spring 84, the,

head. I63 will be guided beneath the keeper lip 9'I by the cam surface Hi6 on the back edge" of the head I03.

In the fully in position of: the slide member 93, its coin hole I01 becomes aligned with an enlarged coin discharge hole II 6, see Figs. 3 and 5, formed in the bottom wall of the tubularmem- :ber 9|. In that position, the inserted coin drops through the discharge hole I I6 and onto an inclined chute -I I I which conveys the coin laterally and drops it into a coin collecting box I I8. The collecting box I I3 is removably'positioned on a platform I I9 mounted Within the casing 20 behind the'cover plate 38. Thus, when the cover plate 38 is removed the coin box H8 can be lifted out of the casing 2b to have its contents spilled therefrom. The platform H9 is mounted in position by means of a downwardly extended lug I 20 secured to the inside face of the front wall 22 alongside the opening 3'! in that front wall 22.

Ihe bottom portion of thefront wall of the casing 20, below the discharge slot 55, is formed with an opening I2I through which used towels can be inserted into the bottom of the casing. The opening I2I is surrounded on the outer face of the front wall 22 by a chute I22 for guiding the used towels through that opening IZI. Within the bottom of the casing 20, there is a container I23 into which the used towels collect after being passed through the opening I2 I.

The container I23 is integral with a plate IZQ wh ch closes a hole I25 formed in the front wall 22 below the opening I ZI. The-plate I 2% is retained in position by a hook portion I26 mounted on the bottom of the plate IZ I-and engaged'with the material of the front wall 22 at the bottom of the hole I25. The hook portion I26 is as long as the hole I is wide to retain the plate I24 against lateral shifting. Mounted on the top of the plate I24 there is a key operated lock I2'I which engages the material of the front wall 22 at the top of the hole I25. The lock I2I may be designed to be opened by the same key which opens the lock 40 or, if desired, the key operated lock I2'I could be replaced by the usual spring operated latch member for retaining the top portion of the plate I24 in its position closing the hole I25.

It is thought that the operation of the coin controlled device of the present invention for dispensing a piece of towel material for the insertion I of a coin of a given denomination will be apparent from the foregoing description of the mechanical construction without a detailed operation.

In the modification of the present invention shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the construction of the towel dispensing device is similar to that previously described except for the nature of the towel material and the support therefor. In the mod ification of the invention, the toweling material 27' is of the plurally folded type and is restedh on a shelf I30 rested upon L-shaped brackets I3I secured to the inside face of one of the side walls 24 and the adjacent wall of the recessed portion 82 of the front wall 22. Adjacent its rear edge the shelf I30 is formed with an elongated slot I32 through which the toweling material 21 is continuously pulled by the feed rollers.

Resilient means is provided for retaining the toweling material 21' in position on the top face of the shelf I30. The resilient means is characterized by a pair of posts I33 which extend vertically from the shelf I30 on opposite sides of the stacked toweling material 21'. Slidably positioned on the top ends of the posts I33 to rest on the top of the stack of toweling material 21, there is a plate I34. The top ends of the posts I33 are threaded and nuts I are threadedly engaged upon the top ends of those posts I33. Expansion springs I38 are engaged coaxially upon the top ends of the rods I33 and operate between the adjacent faces of the plate I34 and the bottom faces of the nuts I35 for pressing the plate I34 downward onto the stack of folded toweling material 27'. Instead of the contraction spring I36 any other desired form of resilient means can be used for pressing the plate I34 downward onto the top of the stack of folded toweling material 21'.

In other respects the form of the invention shown in Figs. 8 and 9 is similar to that described in connection with Figs. 1 to 7 and like reference numerals are used to identify like parts in each of the several views.

In accordance with the terms of the present invention, the term toweling material is intended to cover any liquid absorbent material, whether made from paper, textile or any other similar material, suitable for absorbing water and like as generally used for drying the human hands and face following washing thereof.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I 10 claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In a towel dispensing machine of the class described, means for holding a supply of toweling material, coacting feed rollers for feeding said toweling material from said supply, a manually operable handle for controlling the operation of said feed rollers, and means operated by said handle for cutting off the length of toweling material extended by said feed rollers, said feed rollers being connected for unitary movement by intermeshed pinions, a driver gear engaged with one of said pinions, and means interconnecting said handle and said driver gear for causing the driver gear to be turned through a portion of a complete revolution for each operation of the handle, the periphery of said driver gear being sub-divided into separate operating portions each having a toothed section and an untoothed section, said toothed sections of said driver gear being longer than said untoothed sections so that the feed rollers will be idle during the latter part of each of said portions of a-complete revolution of said driver gear, said cutting off means comprising blades located on opposite sides of the toweling material after leaving said feed rollers, one of said blades being pivotally mounted, and an arm extending from said handle and operative during that part of each portion of a complete revolution of said driver gear when said feed rollers are idle to pivot the pivotally mounted blade and out off the extended end of said toweling material.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said toweling material includes a shelf therefor, said toweling material being of the plurally folded typeand rested on said shelf, said shelf being formed with an elongate slot through which said toweling material can be continuously drawn by said feed rollers.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein resilient means for holding said folded toweling material in position engages said toweling.

4. The combination of claim 1 and a supply roller for said toweling material, said toweling being in a continuous roll and supported on said supply roller.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said blades are secured to tension means, a stationary blade, a shaft engaging said blades, and said driver gear actuating said blades.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said machine includes a guide plate adjacent said rollers, said guide plate being pivotally mounted and actuated by said blades to move out of the way when a piece of toweling is cut off.

CHARLES JACOBSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Silberman Dec. 12, 1933 

